System and method for construction, delivery and display of itv applications that blend programming information of on-demand and broadcast service offerings

ABSTRACT

A user interface allows for blending of television program choices from which a viewer may select, the blending representing options for linear and non-linear programming presented together within a single hierarchy of a designated category. The blending may further include managed content relevant to the designated category, where desired. Such designated categories may include television programming categories and/or content categories. The options for linear and non-linear programming may be presented together within a single screen of the user interface.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 13/049,948, filed Mar. 17, 2011, entitled “Systemand Method for Construction, Delivery and Display of iTV Applicationsthat Blend Programming Information of On-Demand and Broadcast ServiceOfferings,” which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 12/730,771, filed Mar. 24, 2010 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,958,528), which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 10/664,275, filed Sep. 16, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,703,116), and entitled “System and Method for Construction, Deliveryand Display of iTV Applications that Blend Programming Information ofOn-Demand and Broadcast Service Offerings,” which:

-   -   a) is a non-provisional of U.S. provisional application No.        60/486,567, entitled “System and Method for Construction,        Delivery and Display of iTV Applications that Blend Programming        Information of On-Demand and Broadcast Service Offerings,” filed        Jul. 11, 2003;    -   b) is a continuation-in part of and claims priority to U.S.        application Ser. No. 10/390,064, filed Mar. 14, 2003 (now U.S.        Pat. No. 8,042,132), entitled “System and Method For        Construction, Delivery and Display of iTV”; and    -   c) is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S.        application Ser. No. 10/460,950, filed Jun. 12, 2003, entitled        “Graphically Rich, Modular, Promotional Tile Interface for        Interactive Television.”

FIELD

The present application relates to systems and methods for enabling andautomating the delivery of interactive television content tosubscribers.

BACKGROUND

Interactive television (iTV) is currently available in varying forms,each of which combines, in some form or other, the passive viewingexperience of traditional TV viewing with the interactive nature of theWorld Wide Web. Thus, in different implementations, iTV might allowviewers (or subscribers) to review local news headlines or weatherforecasts while watching their favorite television shows and/orelectronically chatting with other viewers about the latest plot twists.Such text and graphics information is referred to as Managed Content.Certainly all iTV systems have a version of an interactive program guideor electronic program guide (IPG or EPG, respectively) that allowssubscribers to learn about and select desired programming

Such programming generally comes in two forms: linear and non-linear.Linear programming is another name for traditional broadcast programmingThat is, programming that is available for viewing by subscribersaccording to a schedule promulgated by the iTV service and/or contentprovider. Current IPGs allow subscribers to browse and select linearprogramming and some also include the ability to subset linear programlisting data by subject or type of programming

In addition to linear or broadcast television, subscribers may now alsobe given opportunities to select from a list of programs that are notlinear, but instead are provided on-demand. Such content is genericallyreferred to as non-linear programming or Video on Demand (VOD). CurrentIPGs for browsing and selecting VOD programs include the ability toselect such programming from categories of non-linear (on-demand)programming.

SUMMARY

The present application provides, in various embodiments, systems andmethods by which subscribers are presented with navigational interfacesthat blend linear, non-linear, and (in some cases) managed content orinformation services and/or links to games together in a single screen,or single iTV application.

In one embodiment, the user interface allows for blending of televisionprogram choices from which a viewer may select, the blendingrepresenting options for linear and non-linear programming presentedtogether within a single hierarchy of a designated category. Theblending may further include managed content relevant to the designatedcategory, where desired. Such designated category may be a televisionprogramming category and/or a content category. The options for linearand non-linear programming are, in some embodiments, presented togetherwithin a single screen of the user interface.

A further embodiment provides a user interface that includes anavigational hierarchy that blends linear and non-linear programmingoptions, and information services in a single presentation. The blend ofprogramming choices may be presented as a set of all availableprogramming options and/or a subset of all available programmingoptions. The navigational hierarchy is, in some cases, presented in asingle screen of information and the blending of information serviceswith linear and non-linear programming information may be done atmultiple levels of content categorization. The non-linear programminginformation may include information about programs recorded on asubscriber storage unit. The blending referred to above may be performedaccording to categories (e.g., content categories, content providercategories, etc.) of programming, and/or may span content delivery typesand content categories.

Still another embodiment provides a user interface which includes asingle screen having various regions thereof for displaying non-linearprogramming information, linear programming information and managedcontent relevant to the linear and non-linear programming information orcategory. The linear and non-linear programming information arepreferably within a common category (e.g., a content category or acontent provider category).

The user interface may additionally include a scaled audio/video orbackground audio/video presentation area. A navigation controlconfigured to allow scrolling through content offerings (e.g., channelfamilies) provided by a common content provider may also be provided. Insuch cases, video information presented in the scaled or backgroundvideo presentation area can be dependent upon scrolling via thenavigation control. The navigation control may include a categorydescriptor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and notlimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual model for the blending of linearprogramming, non-linear programming and managed content in a single userinterface or iTV application in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an iTV navigation application hierarchyconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates the separation of content types among categoryapplications within an iTV navigation application hierarchy configuredin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the separation of content types among channelapplications within an iTV navigation application hierarchy configuredin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a user interface layout configured forthe presentation of multiple content types in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the use of scrolling lists ofprogramming opportunities within a user interface configured for thepresentation of multiple content types in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 illustrate the use of category applications and theselection of content elements from within such applications within auser interface configured for the presentation of multiple content typesin accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example of a user interface which combineslinear and non-linear programming information in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a user interface for a categoryapplication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example of a user interface which combineslinear and non-linear programming information for iTV categoryapplications in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate further examples of user interfaces for iTVcategory applications that provide access to linear and non-linearprogramming information through a single hierarchy in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are systems and methods by which subscribers arepresented with iTV navigational hierarchies that blend linear,non-linear, and (optionally) information services into single, simplepresentations. Where current IPG and similar systems fail is in the lackof seamless blending of linear and non-linear programming options. Thatis, in current IPG systems linear and non-linear programming arepresented as separate hierarchies of navigable content. In contrast, thepresent invention provides systems and methods to allow a subscriber toview both linear and non-linear programming choices together in a singlescreen, or single iTV application. The present invention thereby allowssubscribers to view programming alternatives across both linear andnon-linear opportunities.

In some cases, this blend of programming choices may be presented as theentire set of available programming options or, in other cases, as asubset (or division) of all the available choices. These subsets ofprogramming choices may follow similar hierarchical divisions as existin current IPG systems; however, in the context of the present inventionthese divisions will span linear and non-linear programming rather thanliving in separate hierarchies. Each of the category divisions which canbe implemented in accordance with the present invention can be furthersubdivided in to sub-categories, which can then be divided again andagain as need be.

To illustrate, consider an example of such category division. Thisexample is presented solely for illustrative purposes and should not inany way be read as limiting the types of categorization that can becreated or accommodated in the present methods and systems. Inaccordance with the present invention, a major content category such as“Sports” may be divided in to various subcategories such as “football”,“baseball”, “soccer”, etc. The subcategories such as “football” may thenbe divided in to further subcategories, such as “professional” (or“pro”) and “college” (or “amateur”). Even these subcategories such as“pro” may themselves be further divided in to additional subcategoriessuch as “NFL” and “Arena Football”, and so on. This illustration showsthat categorization can be continued to any desired level so as toeffectively divide up all of the available content offerings intodifferent groupings. Within any and all of these hierarchical divisions,the present invention allows for the aggregated display of linearprogramming information, non-linear programming information, and evenmanaged content services all relative to the particular divisioncategorization.

The benefit of this approach to the television subscriber is that he/shecan choose a programming category and then be provided with listings ofall available programming in that category. This is distinct from priorIPG solutions in which a subscriber must first decide if he/she wants toview linear programming or non-linear programming and then must choose acontent category for browsing (or view a complete list of allprogramming options within that linear or non-linear class). In suchprior systems, a subscriber has to potentially navigate two hierarchies(which may have different structures) to discover what programming isavailable in either liner or non-linear form.

Another unique attribute of the present methods and systems is thatwithin the categorized blending of linear and non-linear programming thepresent invention also allows for the blending of information services(also called managed content) relevant to that categorization.Continuing the “Sports” example then, in addition to presenting allavailable linear and non-linear sports programming, a user interfaceconfigured in accordance with the present invention may also provideinformation services (e.g., text, graphics, advertisements, promotions)relevant to the sports category within the single screen or application.This blending of information services with linear and non-linearprogramming information can exist at any level of categorization and soone may have, for example, a blended information service for baseball,or football, etc., in various embodiments of the present invention.

In some cases the blended category applications may also include listinginformation about programs that the subscriber has recorded on a harddisk or other storage unit (e.g., a personal video recorder, videocassette recorder, etc.). In the “sports” example above, the applicationmay therefore also include listings of any sports-related content thatthe subscriber had previously recorded.

For the purpose of the description presented below, we will refer tonon-linear programming as “On Demand” content. That is, audio/videocontent that does not adhere to previously scheduled programtimes/dates, and may optionally allow for user controls such asfast-forward, pause and rewind. This includes content/programming playedfrom a VOD server or a local hard disk (or other storage unit), or anyother content (including IP-based content delivery) generally availableto start on-demand by the subscriber.

We will further refer to linear programming as “On Now” (or in someinstances the broadcast listings references are divided in to “On Now”and “On Later”—where “On Now” are all of the linear broadcast shows thathave already started, or will start within some small interval of time,and the “On Later” linear broadcast shows are those that have not yetstarted, or that will not start for some short interval of time)content—traditional broadcast television content. Delivery of “on now”content is based on predetermined programming schedules of date and time(usually promulgated by the iTV service provider or, most often, by thecontent provider). This category includes time-based data for both whatis on right now (i.e., programming that is currently being broadcastover the iTV service) and content secluded to be broadcast at a specificfuture point in time.

Finally, we will refer to information services as “Managed Content”.This category includes services made up of elements such as text;graphics and/or audio/video information combined to deliver supplementalinformation services (e.g., weather forecasts, sports scores, etc.).Managed content also includes advertisements and promotions and may alsocontain links to On Now and/or On Demand content or even games and otherapplications.

Along with the various content types comes categorization that islogical to the content. With On Demand and On Now content, thiscategorization can take many forms. The present inventors have foundinstances of these types of content sorted into as few as 14 categoriesup to as many as 42 categories. Table 1 illustrates a potentialcategorization across the three content types.

TABLE 1 Examples of Content Categories within Content Types ON DEMAND ONNOW/LATER MANAGED CONTENT News News News Movies Movies Movies Kids KidsKids Sports Sports Sports Comedy Comedy Weather Westerns Westerns LocalOutdoors Outdoors Entertainment Reality TV Reality TV ShoppingHome/Garden Home/Garden Travel Romance Romance Exercise Exercise MusicMusic Cooking Cooking Talk Shows Talk Shows Shopping Shopping TravelTravel Etc. Etc.

Table 1 is illustrative of the problem with prior art. Namely, there areindependent hierarchies for finding programming and a user interfaceimplementing these hierarchies would not serve the viewer that wants tosee all a list of SPORTS content regardless of its type (linearprogramming, non-linear programming, and managed content) at one time.An example of the present sorting methodology, however, would firstexpose content categories to the user and then only later (e.g., thenext layer down or subcategory) expose the content type (e.g., OnDemand, On Now, and/or Managed Content). FIG. 1 illustrates thisconcept.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual model for the blending of linearprogramming, non-linear programming and managed content in a single userinterface or iTV application in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. The model 10 is meant to illustrate the universe (ora portion thereof) of television content offerings within an iTVservice. This universe of content has been divided into contentcategories (News, Sports, Movies, etc.) 12 a-12 p and each contentcategory may have content elements that are within on-demand, on now ormanaged content subcategories. For example, the Movies category 12 c mayinclude on-demand movies, regular broadcast movies (on now/later) andmanaged content such as movie synopses, run times, and so on. Ratherthan segregating the available information regarding movies acrossdisparate hierarchies, the present invention combines this informationinto a single hierarchy within the categorized element. This approachallows for the blending of services such that the user can go to oneplace to view the programming selections and managed content for a givencategory. One advantage to this approach is, for example, that allSPORTS or MOVIE content is available in a single view.

The combination of delivery types and categories can be expressed in auser interface that is very straightforward. In one embodiment, the iTVapplication top level of the user interface need only present the mostgeneral (On Demand, On Now) and most popular categories (Movies, Sports,News, Kids, Games, etc). The rest of the content categories may beexposed through a search mechanism, which is ubiquitous throughout theuser interface. Thus, even very specific categories are quicklyaccessible because the search mechanism is exposed on almost all screensof the user interface—always presenting programming that has been sortedby the type of filter the viewer has chosen—whether it is a deliverytype or main category. To better illustrate this concept, we describebelow various embodiments of a user interface and discuss how the userinteracts therewith (e.g., via a remote control) to navigate the variouspaths to the desired content.

As shown in FIG. 2, at the very highest level of one embodiment of theuser interface architecture is a MENU application 20. The MENU's role isto provide persistent navigation for global user interface functions(e.g., Help, Home, Search, and Favorites) as well as primarydestinations (e.g., On Demand and On Now programming) A secondaryfunction of the MENU 20 is to allow for controlled promotions to anycontent across all applications. An important point in the process is tobegin to slice the content types based on various user types and userscenarios.

FIG. 2 illustrates the first step in this process by showing the contenttypes, On Demand and On Now, as stand-alone destinations 22 and 24,respectively. In addition, a SEARCH application 26 would allow the userto make a specific query and get results from content that is both OnDemand and On Now (as represented by the content-type boxes within theSearch application). In addition, a predefined (or perhapsuser-specified up to a point) number of category-specific applicationsfocused around strategic content categories (e.g. Movies, Sports, News,Kids, Games, etc.) and that blend the content types within a category,may be presented via or through the MENU 20. FAVORITES 28 is also anapplication that includes a cross-section of On Demand and On Now/Latercontent, but is populated based on the user's preferences as a filter.Note that the architecture illustrated in FIG. 2 does not excludeManaged Content services from being an element of “My Favorites” or of“Search”. However, a preferred embodiment of the present invention willhave the Managed Content mixed in within category applications such thatit is presented within the context of linear and non-linear programminginformation aggregation.

It will be apparent to the reader that one could easily devise manypossible content categories; indeed, many more than could be comfortablyfit into an elegant user interface to be presented on a televisionscreen. However, the creation of major, category-specific applicationsfocused around strategic content categories (i.e., Sports, News,Shopping, Kids, etc.) would allow a logical blending of the variouscontent types.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example that includes eight major contentcategories 30 a-30 h, with the blending of content from On Demand(left-most blocks within the categories), On Now (middle) and ManagedContent (right-most) sources. The premise here is that the iTV servicehas “collected” all the data (available programming and informationservices) around a category (such as SPORTS) and is providing that datato the user in a single experience. A predefined (or perhapsuser-specified up to a point) number of these content applications(apps) may be presented via or through the MENU 20. The presentinvention also provides a form of user-selected personalization wherethe user is allowed to select which blended content app(s) he/she wouldlike in his/her MENU 20. In one embodiment, this personalization of theMENU 20 to show specific blended categories is done through a settingsscreen that allows for selection and sequencing of categories to beadded to the menu.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of the use of blended programmingwithin categories in accordance with the present invention. This timethe categorization does not involve solely content categories, butrather network (or content provider) categories 40 a-40 f. Networkprogrammer (or content provider) owned pages (e.g., ESPN™, etc.) andsecondary content categories (e.g., SOAPS) thus also allow for theblending of content types. In this experience, the user is shown contentlistings (from the various content providers) for On Demand and On Nowprogramming for that network programmer, mixed in with the networkprogrammer's Managed Content (such as scores or sports news). Thus, inthese applications, the On Demand, On Now and managed content typesprovided or related to the network programmer are blended together intothe application navigation scheme. The network or programmer applicationmay also be expanded to include all content that is related by networkfamily (e.g. a Disney network of channels including Disney channel, ABC,ESPN, ESPN2, etc.) or programmer brand (e.g. Scripps™ networks, HBO™,Showtime™, etc.) The SOAPS application 40 a is used as an example of aservice operator (e.g., MSO, Telco, etc.) owned application and is meantto illustrate that secondary category applications can be created inaddition to the major category applications. As illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4, some applications could have scaled video in the interface whileothers may utilize full screen, or screen overlay video.

In one embodiment of the present invention, navigation to aprogrammer-specific blended content application is done from a ChannelInfo Bar portion of the user interface as well as via thenetwork-specific listings in the On Demand, On Now, and Favoritesinterface areas. The user may also access blended content applications(or any service) from the remote control if such applications orservices are assigned a channel number.

As indicated above, the present invention may be implemented by creatingand populating interfaces that uniquely combine linear and non-linearprogramming information. In some cases these interfaces also combineManaged Content services such as text, graphics, advertisement, andpromotions relevant to a categorization of programming with theprogramming information. The problems associated with delivering theseblended content services lies in the aggregation of the data elements,the construction of the individual applications, the distribution of theapplications and the data elements, and the interface elements thatprovide for navigation by the user. Below we present variousillustrations of interface implementations, however, it should beremembered that these examples are not meant to be an exhaustive catalogof the manners in which the blending of content in accordance with thepresent invention may be carried out. Many other implementations arelikewise possible and so the examples presented below should be regardedas illustrative, but not limiting in terms of the scope of the presentinvention.

The aggregation of the data elements in accordance with the presentinvention includes the aggregation of linear programming data,non-linear programming data, and managed content data about a singlecategory. In the following examples the linear and non-linearprogramming data is combined with the managed content data at a serverand then broadcast to one or more subscribers as part of individual iTVapplications that represent the category blended content applications.Other implementations include accessing some or all of the data from adata store on the set-top box (STB). The above-cited co-pending patentapplications provide examples of content distribution schemes which maybe used to create and distribute these iTV applications and so adescription of such systems and methods will not be repeated herein. Thetransport of the individual applications and their data sets may then becarried out using conventional data carouselling technology or byaccessing information and applications cached on the STB. In otherembodiments some of the data may be retrieved by the client applicationby using programming interfaces provided on a set-top box which allowsaccess to linear and/or non-linear programming, and/or managed contentinformation. Such local access would allow for retrieving information bycategory.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example wire format of a user interface screen 50that incorporates the above-described blending of different contentelements: linear programming, non-linear programming, and managedcontent services. The positioning of various elements in the diagram isnot indicative of a specific design but rather of relative screen realestate allocation for the various graphical elements. Of course,different embodiments of the user interface may allocate screen realestate differently, for example in order to emphasize currently selectedelements of the interface or to accommodate viewer preferences.

In order to provide the blended content elements, all elements need notbe visible at one time. For example, other embodiments of this inventioninclude providing the different content elements behind a series ofcascading menus or behind different tabs within the user interfacescreen; the menus or tabs being accessible via a set-top box remotecontrol. In such cases the information is still aggregated within oneinterface but the screen real estate devoted to a particular contenttype is maximized by allowing different content types to take precedenceat any given moment.

Within user interface screen 50, a branding window 51 is provided forcontent provider or service provider branding. Such branding may includechannel logos, provider logos, or other graphical elements to identifythe offered content with a particular provider.

In addition, a global navigation area 52 is reserved for placement oficons, widgets or other navigational tools through which a user maynavigate within the user interface application. Navigation willgenerally be provided via a set-top box remote control, which is used toposition and actuate an on-screen cursor in the conventional fashion.Typical navigation elements for such applications include those for aHome page, a Favorites page and so on.

A managed content area 53 is also provided. Within this area 53,information services relevant to the particular content category may bedisplayed. The particular content type may be selected through contentnavigation elements that are displayed in a content applicationnavigation window 54. For example, navigation elements for contentcategories such as Sports, Movies, etc. may be displayed within window54.

The On Now/Later Listing and On Demand Listing areas 55 and 56,respectively, area used for the display of the relevant program listingswithin the currently selected category. In some cases the On Now/laterand On Demand listings will not be displayed in separate windows butwill be further blended together in a single area within screen 50.Examples of such blending are described below in connection with furtherembodiments of the present user interface.

A scaled broadcast video window (or picture in picture (PIP) window) 57may also be provided within screen 50. Such a window allows for displayof the currently viewed programming (e.g., so that a viewer might makeuse of the managed content services while still watching a televisionprogram) or may be used as a preview window as a user scrolls throughprogramming options displayed in the On Now/Later window 55 (e.g., inorder to assist the viewer in making a programming selection). In somecases, previews of On Demand content could also be displayed withinwindow 57, for example to act as an enticement for a viewer to order theprogram.

Finally, an advertising or promotions area 58 is reserved for thedisplay of advertising or promotions content. Such content may or maynot be related to the presently selected category at the option of theservice provider. Examples of promotional content (as reflected in thesamples discussed below) include advertisements for upcomingprogramming.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example of a user interface screen 60configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Inthis example, the left-most portion of screen 60 corresponds to the OnNow/Later listings window discussed above. In particular, a scrolling(paging) vertical list 61 of linear programming opportunities (withcorresponding channel information) is displayed. Upon the selection ofone of the content titles 62 (which correspond to the programs availablefor current viewing on the associated channel) within the programminglist 60, the episode list 63 at right-most side of screen 60 appears.The episode list 63 provides a complete picture of the availableprogramming opportunities for the selected content title and includesboth On Now/Later listing and On Demand listings for that title. Forexample, if the selected content title 62 a corresponded to the HBO™series Sopranos™, the episode list 63 at the right might display thecurrent day's episode being broadcast (i.e., the corresponding OnNow/Later listing) as well as available On Demand episodes that areoffered by the content provider or are saved on the viewer's personalvideo recorder. The linear and non-linear listings are blended into onesimple interface.

In addition to the program listings, the user interface screen 60 alsoincludes an episode description window 64 in which information regardingthe currently selected episode may be presented. In the above example,information regarding the selected Sopranos episode could be presented.Also, navigational elements such as the On Demand link 65 and Searchapplication tab 65 are provided. On Demand link 65 provides anavigational element that allows the viewer to switch from linearlistings to non-linear listings. Search application tab 66 provides amechanism for the viewer to access a Search application. Finally,various Branding windows 67 and 68 and a Time of Day display 69 areprovided.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 illustrate an embodiment of a category application forMovies. Within this category the user can select sub-categories. Thecategory application is displayed through a user interface screen 70that incorporates the features of the present invention discussed above.For example, screen 70 includes a branding window 71 and a window forthe display of the current date/time 79. Also included are globalnavigation elements (e.g., icons) 72 that allow the viewer to navigatewithin the user interface application.

Content category selection may be made through the content applicationnavigation elements 74. The familiar elements for On Now, On Later andOn Demand content are provided. Selection of any of these elements willresult in the corresponding scrolling list of programming options beingdisplayed within the Listings window 75. In addition, a contentnavigation element that allows for the selection of different categorytypes is also present. So too are windows 78 a and 78 b for the displayof advertising or promotional content.

The three illustrations show how a user might navigate within theinterface screen 70 to select a desired program. FIG. 7 begins with theuser having displayed the interface screen 70 on the television and theMovies content category application selected (e.g., through the use ofappropriate remote control buttons). Presently displayed are the On Nowlistings for the Movies category. The listings are displayed withinwindow 75 and may include the movie start time, title andnetwork/channel.

Suppose now the user wishes to view only a certain subcategory ofinformation within the Movies category. FIG. 8 shows a situation wherethe subscriber selected a sub-categorization of the “Movies”, namely“Family Movies”. This selection was made by selecting the Categorynavigational element from the content application navigation elements74. In response, the listings window 75 displayed a list of availableMovie subcategories, one of which is Family. Using the remote control,the viewer can select this subcategory. Once the data has been subsettedin this fashion, the user may decide to shift the view of theapplication from “On Now” to “On Demand”. FIG. 9 shows the resultingscreen where listing window 75 now displays the On Demand titlesavailable for Family Movies.

Thus, the present invention accommodates the user navigating to the“Movies” application where the user is presented with an aggregation ofMovies across both linear and non-linear programming. Further, managedcontent such as promotions for movies or trailers which are relevant tothe Family Movies category may be displayed in windows 78 a and/or 78 bin place of other advertising.

Another illustration of the present invention is one in which the linearand non-linear programming information is presented at the same time asillustrated in FIG. 10. This method allows for the combined presentationof both linear programming information and non-linear programminginformation without having to switch views. This method also simplifiesthe interface to more simply allow for selection of sub categorization.

User interface screen 100 includes the familiar branding windows 101,time/date windows 109 and content application navigation elements 104.In this example, the content category selected is “Baseball” which is asubcategory of All Sports. Thus, listings window 107 includes thebaseball listings for the current date. Importantly, this listingincludes both the linear program listings 105 and the non-linear programlistings 106 for the selected baseball category. The linear listings mayinclude the game time, identification and network/channel information.The non-linear baseball listings may include game identification,network and cost to view. Note that the interface also contains ManagedContent section 103 in the form of tickering baseball scores that arerelevant to the currently selected baseball category. Relevantadvertising 108 may also be displayed.

FIG. 11 illustrates a demonstration embodiment of a category applicationfor a specific content provider. Within this category the user can viewlinear programming information, non-linear programming information, aswell as managed content information from this content provider. Theillustration shows an example presentation of several Manage Contentservices within a user interface screen 110. One such Managed Contentservice is illustrated by ‘Today in History”, which is selected via thecontent application navigation elements 114. Upon selection of thiselement, various listings of events on the current day's date in historyare displayed in listings window 115. These listings could link to textand graphic data or to on-demand videos. The interface additionallystill provides the ability to navigate to linear and non linearprogramming for this category. And includes the familiar branding 111,date/time 119 and advertising 118 and 119 windows.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a category application for thebroad category of Sports. Within this category the user can view linearprogramming information, non-linear programming information. Thisillustration further illustrates a unique way to have visibility intothe sub-category filters for the Sports applications. Here thesub-categories are accessed through a horizontal scrolling list 126.

The user interface screen 120 includes the branding window 121,date/time window 129 and advertising window 128. This time, a scaledvideo inset window 127 is included, for example to allow the viewer towatch a picture-in-picture presentation of the currently selectedprogramming. The content application navigation elements 124 andlistings window 125 are provided for display of available content in theselected application category.

The scrolling list 126 allows for subcategory selection within theselected category. For example, within Sports, the subcategory Golf hasbeen selected, thus causing the listings being displayed in window 125to be related to Golf. As each listing is selected, informationregarding that program may be displayed in the programming informationwindow 123.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate embodiments of a category application forspecific content providers. From these category applications users maygain access to both linear programming information as well as non-linearprogramming information. Access is provided through a single categoryhierarchy rather than down separate paths for linear and non-linearcontent.

User interface screen 130 includes the branding window 131 and thefamiliar content application navigation elements 134 (although this timethe arrangement of these elements is somewhat different than in previousexamples). Managed content offered through this type of categoryapplication includes the programming promotions 133 a and 133 b and alarge graphical promotion 138. The large graphical promotion mayhighlight an upcoming special presentation or high-profile series, etc.As shown in FIG. 14, the arrangement of these elements may vary to suitethe content provider's needs and other links (such as global navigationlinks 132) may also be provided.

The examples given in FIGS. 13 and 14 also have a widget control 135that is unique to this invention. The widget control 135 furtherprovides category specific information filtering to allow the user tobrowse content relative to the given category. The widget control 135may be illustrated by the content provider's call sign (or logo) with upand down arrows on the top and bottom of the call sign. The arrows maybe replaced with other icons indicating navigation control, butregardless of the icon used the behavior of the control 135 is the same.The up and down arrows allow the user to scroll the PIP window 137through a family of channels. The family may be all of the contentprovider's related channels, for example, within a service offering(e.g., all HBO channels or all Disney channels that a user hassubscribed to and/or are available On Demand). In another embodiment thewidget control 135 may read “Sports” (or other content category) and theup and down arrows may allow the user to scroll through the PIPsassociated with all of the sports (or other content category) channels.In this way a user can view actual content instead of just listingsthereof to assist in making a channel selection.

The widget control 135 includes an optional category descriptor (whichcategory may be determined by the context of the application), up anddown (or lateral or both) navigation buttons 141 (and/or mapped remotecontrol keys) and a PIP window 137. As indicated above, the basiccontrol behavior is to allow scrolling through a set of channels andoptionally tuning to any one of the channels, while viewing theassociated content in the PIP window 137 during the scrolling. The actof scrolling through the content options may also affect the otherinformation on the screen such that stays contextual with the contentdisplayed in the PIP window 137.

Thus, systems and methods by which subscribers are presented withnavigational interfaces that blend linear, non-linear, and (in somecases) managed content or information services together in a singlescreen, or single iTV application have been described. Althoughdiscussed with reference to various illustrated embodiments, however,the present invention should only be measured in terms of the claims,which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving a request for anapplication; and responsive to the request, transmitting, by a computingdevice, an application that provides a blending of user-selectablecontent in at least two levels of a hierarchy of levels, wherein theblending of user-selectable content comprises at least two of linearcontent, non-linear content, and managed content presented togetherwithin the at least two levels.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: constructing, by the computing device, the application. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the blending of user-selectable contentcomprises linear content and non-linear content.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein the linear content comprises television programming that isscheduled to be transmitted at particular times, and wherein thenon-linear content comprises on-demand programming that is availableirrespective of a scheduled transmission time.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the application is configured to include content stored at auser device in the blending of user-selectable content, and wherein therequest is from the user device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thelevels are defined by a service provider.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the application includes a widget control configured to sequencea video inset window of a multi-level program guide based at least inpart on content included in a selected content category.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: combining data describing the at leasttwo of the linear content, the non-linear content, and the managedcontent to produce the blending of user-selectable content; wherein theapplication includes the blending of user-selectable content whentransmitted.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving arequest from the application that requests data to populate the blendingof user-selectable content; and responsive to the request, transmittingdata for populating the blending of user-selectable content.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the steps of receiving the request from theapplication and transmitting the data for populating the blending ofuser-selectable content are both performed on a per content categorybasis.
 11. A system, comprising: one or more content data stores thatinclude linear content, non-linear content and managed content; and oneor more computing devices configured to: receive a request for anapplication, and responsive to the request, transmitting, by a computingdevice, an application that provides a blending of user-selectablecontent in at least two levels of a hierarchy of levels, wherein theblending of user-selectable content comprises at least two of the linearcontent, the non-linear content, and the managed content presentedtogether within the at least two levels.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to:construct the application.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein theblending comprises linear content and non-linear content.
 14. The systemof claim 13, wherein the linear content comprises television programmingthat is scheduled to be transmitted at particular times, and wherein thenon-linear content comprises on-demand programming that is availableirrespective of a scheduled transmission time.
 15. The system of claim11, wherein the application is configured to include content stored at auser device in the blending, and wherein the request is from the userdevice.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the levels are defined by aservice provider.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the applicationincludes a widget control configured to sequence a video inset window ofa multi-level program guide based at least in part on content includedin a selected content category.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein theone or more computing devices are further configured to: combine datadescribing the at least two of the linear content, the non-linearcontent, and the managed content to produce the blending ofuser-selectable content; wherein the application includes the blendingof user-selectable content when transmitted.
 19. The system of claim 11,wherein the one or more computing devices are further configured to:receive a request from the application that requests data to populatethe blending of user-selectable content; and responsive to the request,transmit data for populating the blending of user-selectable content.20. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more computing devicesare further configured to perform both the steps of receiving therequest from the application and transmitting the data for populatingthe blending of user-selectable content on a per content category basis.